Moscow residents adjusting to recycle changes

Empty and clean metal, aluminum and tin cans, and mixed paper and cardboard that is clean, dry and without food debris is still accepted in curbside carts.

Residents used to be able to throw No. 1 through 7 plastics into their recycling carts, but LSI only accepts plastic bottles and jugs with screw tops, which typically fall under the No. 1 and 2 categories, Steely said. She said residents can leave the lid screwed onto the container or remove it.

Shredded paper is now only accepted at the Moscow Recycling Center and no longer in curbside recycling carts as previously allowed.

Single-stream cart customers were previously required to place the paper in a plastic bag before tossing it in their cart, but plastic bags are no longer accepted by LSI.

Steely said residents can still take shredded paper directly to the recycling center.

Aluminum foil is no longer accepted either as it is frequently contaminated by food, Steely said.

Moscow Sanitation Operations Manager Tim Davis said pots and pans are still accepted directly at the recycling center but not in curbside carts. Aseptic packaging is no longer accepted in curbside carts or at the recycling center.

Steely said certain plastics, such as salad containers, yogurt containers and clam shells are no longer accepted because local material recovery facilities do not have the sorting equipment to process those items properly.

Those easily crushable, thin lightweight plastics become flattened in the sorting process and get sorted incorrectly, Steely said.

She said the items mostly end up in the paper stream, which lowers the quality of the recycled paper and makes it more difficult to sell or recycle back to places where they use the recyclables to make paper.

Steely said plastic grocery bags are no longer accepted because they clog sorting lines at material recovery facilities, which can shut down equipment. WinCo and Safeway have bins available for customers to use to recycle plastic bags.

Steely said LSI employees have been hanging tags on recycling carts that are contaminated with food or non-recyclable materials. For those with contamination tags, she said residents can call LSI and Steely will visit the customer’s home to show the resident what is and is not accepted.